Antioxidant and Nephroprotective Studies on Telfairia occidentalis Pod in Experimental Rats

Abstract

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) induces nephrotoxicity accompanied with oxidative stress at high dose (8000 mg/kg). Medicinal prospects of underutilized Telfairia occidentalis pod, TOP was suggested recently. This study investigated the in vitro antioxidant potentials, and in vivo antioxidant, renal function and histologic outcomes of TOP extract, TOPE, in MSG-challenged rats after oral exposure for 14 days. In vitro, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and 2,2-diphynyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging activity of TOPE concentration-dependently peaked at the highest tested concentration. In vivo, MSG caused marked and significant (p < 0.05) alterations of the investigated antioxidant and renal function parameters. TOPE either improved, or elicited similar response on these parameters compared to the control, and dose-dependently (p < 0.05) diminished the MSG-induced effects. Histologic data revealed that the multifocal degeneration of the renal tubular epithelial cells of MSG-induced rats were absent in the control and others indicating significant degree of repair by TOPE in TOPE co-treatment groups. Thus, TOPE has demonstrated in vitro antioxidant capacity and in vivo protective inhibition against nephrotoxicity induced by administration of MSG in rats via probable antioxidant balancing mechanism.